Results 6,901-6,920 of 26,430 for speaker:David Cullinane

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: It was €45 million. What were the figures in 2011 and 2012? Does Mr. Doyle have all the figures?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: There was a significant decrease from €45 million to €34 million.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: What was the reason for the decrease in the subvention?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: We are dealing now with-----

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: It was €45 million in 2010 and it was €36 million in 2015. The difference might be even greater when increased costs and inflation are factored in. My point is that there has been a significant cut in the Bus Éireann subvention since 2010. Obviously, there has been a slight increase in recent years, but there is still a substantial difference between the 2010 figure and...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: Are there any plans to increase the subvention to bring it back to the 2010 level, at least?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: I am asking specifically about Bus Éireann at the moment.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: Will Mr. Doyle tell me how the subvention is calculated?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: The NTA has said in a report that it cannot legally provide extra funding to the struggling Expressway routes. Will Mr. Doyle or the other officials in the Department provide details of the legal impediments that mean this is the case? Has the Department sought advice from the European Commission or any other authority on the legal impediments that may or may not be in place to prevent the...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: I understand the commercial aspect of it. My question relates to the NTA's statement that it is not legally possible to provide certain funding. Has the Department sought an opinion on whether the NTA's statement is correct?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: Given that Mr. Doyle is from Waterford, I assume he will be aware that the Expressway service from Waterford to Dublin has to make eight stops, whereas the private operators have to make just two stops on the same route. It is not necessarily a level playing field. I have mentioned just one example. There are other examples. The CIE express service cannot use the full motorway, whereas...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: It is not an agreement. Bus Éireann is not allowed to offer an Expressway service that bypasses certain towns. It is very clear that the Expressway service run by CIE has to stop in these destinations.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: Does Mr. Doyle have figures to break down the approximate cost of the free travel contribution per passenger and to compare that with the average fare per customer? According to the figures I have been given, the free travel contribution per passenger is approximately €4.86 on the Expressway route, whereas the average fare on the service is €11.78. Are those figures incorrect?...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: What does Mr. Doyle mean when he says it "causes issues"? We have just established that there has been a significant decrease in the subvention payments for public service provision since 2010. We have also heard from Mr. Doyle today that there has been a freeze in the free travel contribution. All of this tells me that Bus Éireann is facing significant challenges as it seeks to...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: The company's attempt to save €30 million over the coming years is causing difficulties, as seen in the current industrial relations dispute. There is a problem here.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: It has been suggested that the number of passengers has increased by 2 million. Would that be an accurate figure?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: What is the role of the Department in relation to policy? My understanding is that Bus Éireann has presented the Department with three reform plans in recent years. Why would it submit such plans to the Department? When we to try to hold the Minister to account on any of these issues, he says they are matters for the NTA or Bus Éireann but not for the Department. Policy is...

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: The Department can comment though.

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: The Department has commented on those plans. What was the response to the three plans?

Public Accounts Committee: 2015 Annual Report of the Comptroller and Auditor General and Appropriation Accounts
Vote 31 - Transport, Tourism and Sport (23 Feb 2017)

David Cullinane: When the Department passes comment, as it has on three reports which have been submitted, I assume those comments carry some weight. In all three reports that were submitted to the Department comment was made and concerns were raised. Those concerns obviously carry some weight.